A new report suggests “social finance”, a new form of investment, may provide Canadian non profits with the consistent revenue needed to tackle major social problems.

“Can community-based employment help the unemployed develop their transferable skills and social capital?”, is the question the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SDRC) attempts to answer in their report Improving skills, networks, and livelihoods through community-based work: Three-year impacts of the Community Employment Innovation Project.

The Schwab Foundation is seeking to recognize and reward leading Canadian social entrepreneurs who are making a difference in their communities, with the ‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year’ award. Selected finalists will be invited to attend the Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Summit, organized by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in partnership with MaRS, the Centre for Social Innovation and the Toronto City Summit Alliance.

According to recent commentary from the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, the voluntary sector generates enormous amounts of revenue and employs thousands of people yet remains a virtually untapped source of revenue in much of Canada.

Enterprising Non-Profits (ENP) has made several of the keynote sessions of the 2nd Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise available through podcasts.

Register your social enterprise online with the Canadian Social Enterprise Marketplace at Enterprising Non-Profits(ENP), and make your presence known!

Tides Canada Foundation recently published research on this new social purpose capital marketplace, providing studies on definitions of social purpose capital, growth and trends in the Canadian charitable finance sector, as well as barriers and opportunities existing in the social finance sector.

Freelance print and broadcast journalist Elisa Birnbaun takes a closer look at the economic impact of nonprofit organizations and the challenges they face in an increasingly competitive marketplace.